<h2>Name</h2>
<p>
The Surah derives its name from the initial letter <em>Qaf</em>, thereby
implying that it is the Surah which opens with the alphabetic letter
<em>Qaf</em>.
</p>
<h2>Period of Revelation</h2>
<p>
There is no authentic tradition to show as to when exactly this Surah
was sent down. A study of the subject matter, however, reveals that
its period of revelation is the second stage of the Holy Prophet's
life at Makkah, which lasted from the third year of the Prophethood
till the fifth year. We have given the characteristics of this period
in the Introduction to the Sarah Al-An'am. In view of those
characteristics it can be said that this Surah might have been sent
down in about the 5th year, when the antagonism of the disbelievers
had become quite intense but had not yet assumed tyrannical
proportions.
</p>
<h2>Theme and Topics</h2>
<p>
Authentic traditions show that the Holy Prophet used to recite this
Surah generally in the Prayer on the Eid days. A woman named Umm Hisham
bin Harithah, who was a neighbor of the Holy Prophet, says that she
was able to commit Surah Qaf to memory only because she often heard it
from the Holy Prophet in the Friday sermons. According to some other
traditions he often recited it in the Fajr Prayer. This makes it
abundantly clear that this was an important Surah in the sight of the
Holy Prophet. That is why he made sure that its contents reached as
many people as possible over and over again. 
</p>
<p>
This reason for this
importance can be easily understood by a careful study of the Surah.
The theme of the entire Surah is the Hereafter. When the Holy Prophet
started preaching his message in Makkah what surprised the people most
was the news that people would be resurrected after death, and they
would have to render an account of their deeds. They said that that
was impossible; human mind could not believe that that would happen.
After all, how could it be possible that when the body had
disintegrated into dust the scattered particles would be reassembled
after hundreds of thousands of years to make up the same body once
again and raised up as a living body, Allah in response sent down this
discourse. In it, on the one hand, arguments have been given for the
possibility and occurrence of the Hereafter in a brief way, in short
sentences, and, on the other, the people have been warned, as if to
say: "Whether you express wonder and surprise, or you regard it as
something remote from reason, or deny it altogether, in any case it
cannot change the truth. The absolute, un-alterable truth is that
Allah knows the whereabouts of each and every particle of your body
that has scattered away in the earth, and knows where and in what
state it is. Allah's one signal is enough to make all the scattered
particles gather together again and to make you rise up once again as
you had been made in the first instance. Likewise, your this idea that
you have been created and left free to yourselves in the world and
that you have not been made answerable to anyone, is no more than a
misunderstanding. The fact is that not only is Allah Himself directly
aware of each act and word of yours, even of the ideas that pass in
your mind, but His angels also are attached to each one of you, who
are preserving the record of whatever you do and utter. When the time
comes, you will come out of your graves at one call just as young
shoots of vegetable sprout up from the earth on the first shower of
the rain. Then this heedlessness which obstructs your vision will be
removed and you will see with your own eyes all that you are denying
today. At that time you will realize that you had not been created to
be irresponsible in this world but accountable to all your deeds the
meeting out of the rewards and punishments, the Hell and Heaven, which
you regard as impossible and imaginary things, will at that time
become visible realities for you in consequence of your enmity and
opposition to the Truth you will be cast into the same Hell which you
regard as remote from reason today and the ones who fear the Merciful
God and return to the path of righteousness, will be admitted to the
same Paradise at whose mention you now express wonder and surprise.
</p>

